republicans had barry goldwater, but they also had jacob javits. the diversity of the parties, by history. you can see the result of the party system we have now. host: a caller. caller: i am concerned about how history is going to deal with the fact that the senator mitch mcconnell and the senate and house republicans all stood up and said, we're going to stop this presidency. we're going to make sure it is a failed presidency. how is history going to deal with that? why has the press and the media given republicans a pass on this serious issue? it is almost like it is unpatriotic, totally unethical for them to do this. guest: it reflects the evolution of the political culture. he used to say, i am a man of unyielding principle. and i am a man of unbending flexibility. it is a reflection of this political culture, which is along the lines i just described. host: i want to read you from "the washington post." barack obama begins his second term as the most visible public figure in the world. his face has appeared on more than 12,000 nightly newscas